Save Me
by Lothiriel84
Summary: It wasn't the first time that Patrick Jane had been arrested, and Lisbon had a shrinking suspicion that it wasn't going to be the last either. - AU to 4x24. Written for tromana as a part of the 2013 Creative Pay-It-Forward on LiveJournal. A huge thank you to MerriWyllow for betaing my story, and to Miss Peg for helping me work out the plot.


It wasn't the first time that Patrick Jane had been arrested, and Lisbon had a shrinking suspicion that it wasn't going to be the last either.

The first time around he'd bugged Bosco's office, while the second he'd actually killed a man. She supposed that getting busted for assault and fraud didn't top that list anyway.

As of right now, she couldn't decide whether she was more concerned or merely angry at him. He'd turned down each and every offer of help, had barely spoken to her in months even.

And now she'd just had to drive all the way to Vegas and put up bail for him. It was a lot of money, but that wasn't exactly what was bothering her at the moment.

Jane seemed seriously on the verge of finally losing it. She couldn't blame him, given the way Red John had been toying with him on the ninth anniversary of his wife and daughter's murder; however, he should have let her – anyone – help him instead of hiding away in a Vegas casino and attempting to drown his sorrows in drink.

Not to mention the fact that resuming his psychic act hadn't been a good idea at all. That was precisely the reason why a disappointed client had decided to knock the living daylights out of him, while Jane himself had ended up accidentally punching a cop in the nose.

She was resolved to help him this time, whether he liked it or not. They were friends, and friends looked after each other. If he was actually suffering from a breakdown as she suspected, then she would take him straight to Sophie Miller and let her deal with him instead.

She was loath to have him locked up in a mental institution again, but she also had to make sure that he wasn't going to do anything dangerous either for himself or for others.

He'd already almost burned down the CBI building and then buried a suspect alive. She didn't even want to think what might happen next.

As likely as not Vegas PD would agree to drop charges against him if she used the right leverage. He probably didn't deserve it, but she needed this mess to be over in order to try and get him on his feet again.

When the door finally opened she was treated with the sight of a rather disheveled Patrick Jane, with his clothes wrinkled and a black eye.

His face broke into a smile when he caught her eye, as if he'd known that she would come all along.

xxx

"Yes, sir, I'll keep in touch. Goodnight."

Lisbon ended the call and dropped her cellphone on the coffee table before finally heading upstairs.

The fact that Wainwright seemed genuinely concerned about Jane's mental health was definitely a good thing, especially after their stormy parting not so many months ago. However, she'd had a long and tiring day; as of right now, she was in dire need of a hot shower and a good night's rest.

After ten minutes spent under the steaming water spray, she found herself pausing on the threshold of her own bedroom – her eyes resting on Jane's recumbent form. It looked like he'd taken her advice (well, it'd been more of an order actually) and showered, but hadn't bothered drying his hair after that.

"Jane? You okay?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'll be downstairs on the couch if you need me, all right?"

No answer came this time, so she took a few tentative steps towards him.

"Jane?"

Even though he stubbornly refused to meet her gaze, the vulnerable look in his eyes didn't escape her notice. She sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You can talk to me. We're friends, remember?"

He took in a shaky breath. "I don't want to go back in Sophie Miller's care. It was bad enough the first time."

"It doesn't have to be Dr. Miller – if you'd rather see another psychiatrist, that's perfectly fine with me. But you have to let me help you, and that's the only way."

Lisbon ran her thumb soothingly along his collarbone, as she leaned forward in order to look him in the eye.

"Do you trust me, Patrick?"

"You know I do."

"Will you do that for me then?"

Jane closed his eyes and leaned further into her touch. "Okay."

"I'll come and visit you as soon as I can, I promise."

"Don't make any promises you know you won't be able to keep, Teresa."

She smiled softly and prepared to leave. "I'll do my best to stick to it. Sweet dreams, Jane."

As she reached over and turned off the light she felt his fingers closing around her wrist.

"Stay with me tonight?"

Never before she'd heard him using such a pleading tone. Lisbon considered her options for a moment before eventually giving in.

Without a word she lay down beside him and wrapped him in a comforting embrace. To her own surprise, it didn't feel as awkward as she'd thought it would. She'd done the same so many times with her brothers after all, and along the years Jane had become a part of her family somehow.

She felt him snuggling up to her before she finally allowed sleep to take over.

xxx

"_I miss you."_

Lisbon let out a soft sigh, all the while cradling her cellphone between her ear and her shoulder. Jane had been right about one thing – she was definitely too busy to visit him as much as she'd have liked to. She had made a point to check on him regularly though, that's why she was talking to him on the phone while she was actually supposed to complete her paperwork.

"You've only been there for a month, Jane," she reminded him patiently. "While you stayed in Vegas for much longer."

"_Well, I was drunk most of time back then."_

"Yeah, and whose fault it was? You're the one who left, Jane."

"_I know. I'm sorry, I was just…"_

She sighed again. "We've been there before, no need to explain it all over."

Flipping through the pages of her file she finally scribbled her signature at the bottom of the last page. She hoped that Wainwright wasn't going to catch her filing paperwork while talking on the phone, even if he'd been very understanding about Jane's situation during the last few weeks.

"_Luther's been here, by the way."_

"What? When?"

An amused chuckle came from the other end of the line.

"_There's no reason for you to panic, Lisbon. I behaved, I swear. I even apologized for insulting him some months ago."_

She raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was actually telling the truth. "Really? And surely Sophie Miller will be able to confirm your version?"

"_Ah, your inner cop can never resist double-checking everything, does it? Sophie wasn't there, but you may ask Luther himself if you like. He even promised he'll make sure you're going to visit soon."_

Lisbon bit her lip, tying to ignore the small pang of guilt she felt at his words.

"I'm sorry I haven't come over yet. We've had three cases this month, and the last one was bad enough."

"_I know, Luther told me. It's a pity that you refused my help about it."_

She shook her head and went on rummaging through the files in her filing cabinet. "You have to focus on getting better, and nothing else. I thought we'd agreed on that."

Before Jane could reply there was a knock at her door, and Rigsby ducked in.

"Sorry to interrupt, boss. A guy wants to see you – he says it's a matter of the utmost importance."

She frowned. "Is it something related to the case we've just closed?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't say. He seems adamant that he's going to speak to you, and to you only."

"All right, I'll see him in a minute."

Rigsby paused for a moment. "Is that Jane you're talking to?"

"Yep."

"Say hello to him from us all then."

"I'll do. Thanks, Rigs."

"_Good old Wayne. I miss him and the other guys as well – though not as much as I miss you, I have to say."_

"I miss you too, Jane," she couldn't help admitting this time. She'd bet he was grinning like an idiot now, much to her annoyance – but also to her pleasure, if she had to be honest with herself.

"_Call tomorrow, okay?"_

"I will. Take care of yourself."

With that she pocketed her cellphone and strode into the bullpen, trying to figure out if there was something she'd failed to notice about their latest case.

xxx

"All right, Mr. Russell. You say you have some confidential information to share about one of our cases. Which case exactly are we talking about?"

A slow smile appeared on the man's lips. He didn't answer at once, just went on sipping his tea – and yet Lisbon was pretty sure he was taking in every detail about her office in the meanwhile.

"He bought you that couch, didn't he? That's interesting, very interesting."

She drummed her fingers on her desk, trying to fight back her annoyance. "I thought we were supposed to be talking about a murder investigation. What has my couch to do with anything?"

Mr. Russell's smile turned slightly indulgent at her words. "Even the smallest of things matters, if only you look at it from the right angle."

He put the teacup back on its saucer and looked her straight in the eyes. "I've heard so much about you, Agent Lisbon. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Her eyes narrowed all of a sudden. Jane wasn't the only one that happened to have hunches; right now, she had the distinct feeling that there was something big going on.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

The man nodded appreciatively and leaned back into his chair. "You're more perceptive than they give you credit for. A pity that you've always been overshadowed by your golden-boy consultant."

He ran a gentle finger over the rim of his teacup. "I have many names, but you can call me Roy if you like. I'm here to hand myself over for all the murders committed by the serial killer named Red John."

And just like that, Lisbon felt her whole world turn upside down right before her very eyes.

xxx

"Boss? You alright?"

Lisbon took a deep breath and turned to face Van Pelt. "Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?"

The redhead walked into the office and shut the door behind her. "Dr. Miller has just called. She says Jane's made an attempt at escaping this morning, and they're currently keeping him sedated in order to prevent other incidents."

This time she couldn't help banging her head on the desk. She was seriously on the verge of having a breakdown herself, and all she could do was hope for a miracle to help her out of this sorry mess.

"What about Mr. Russell? Is there anything relevant about his past?"

"He's perfectly clean, or he seems to be at the very least. I think I've found something in his medical records though."

"What is it?"

"He's been diagnosed with a terminal cancer a couple of months ago. Seems that Mr. Russell hasn't long to live anymore."

"How long?"

"His doctor says it's a matter of weeks now – maybe days, even."

Lisbon rubbed her temples in a desperate attempt to get rid of her headache. Admitted that Mr. Russell was actually Red John and not just one of his acolytes, it would make sense for him to surrender once he knew he was going to die anyway.

Or maybe it was only a ruse, another of the twisted games the serial killer loved to play.

One thing was sure though. She wasn't going to let him meet Jane, no matter what compelling evidence Mr. Russell had promised to give them in exchange.

xxx

Lisbon nodded at the two FBI agents standing outside the suspect's hospital room. When she stepped inside she found Cho stoically sitting on a chair and pretending to read a book, while his eyes actually followed each and every move of the man lying on the bed.

"You can go take a coffee now. I'm going to have a word with Mr. Russell in the meanwhile."

As Cho left the room a quiet laugh came from the bed.

"Your men would throw themselves into the fire if you asked them to, wouldn't they?"

"That's none of your business, Mr. Russell."

"Why do you still refuse to call me by my real name?"

She paused, watching him closely. "I still don't know that you're actually Red John."

"I told you, I can give you plenty of proof about that. All I'm asking is a chance to speak to Patrick before I die."

"Not going to happen, I'm sorry."

A slight smile hovered about the man's lips. "Would you really deny the last wish to a dying man?"

"Actually, I'll do everything in my power so that Jane won't see you until you're six feet under. As far as evidence is concerned, we'll just need to ask Rosalind Harker to identify your body once everything is over. And we'll probably find even more if we dig deep enough."

"It's nice to see your vengeful streak stepping forward for once. I bet there're very few people who were lucky enough to witness this darker side of yours, Teresa."

"Go to hell."

Mr. Russell tilted his head to one side. "I might do that very soon. I hope you'll decide to pass my greetings onto our common friend then – tell him that he's been a worthy opponent, and it's been a pleasure for me to match wits with him."

If there was one thing that Lisbon wasn't willing to do, that was punching a sick man on his nose. Clenching her fists she stormed out of the room, leaving Cho to resume his watch over the prisoner.

xxx

"It took you long enough to come and visit me."

Lisbon ran a tentative finger along his wrist. Jane's teasing tone was quite encouraging, but she knew he had a long way to go before healing completely. He was still coming to terms with Red John dying a natural (as much as unexpected) death, but it was something he would eventually come through in the end.

She tried to summon a smile, but failed miserably. "I've been… busy, you know."

"I know."

Jane threaded his fingers through hers and gave her an affectionate look. Part of him was probably grateful for what had happened, though she suspected he was also feeling guilty about failing to keep the promise he'd made on his wife and daughter's grave.

"I expect you're going to get promoted over such a brilliant achievement."

"Yeah. Arresting a dying man who'd willingly given himself up to the police is definitely a career-making sort of thing."

"Red John chose to give himself up to you of all people. Therefore, you're the one who closed his case."

She searched his eyes for a moment, half-afraid of what she might find there. "Jane…"

"I'm fine, Lisbon. It's finally over, and this is all that matters."

He was right of course. A decade-long nightmare had eventually come to an end, and now all of them had the chance to get back to their lives; or to get themselves a new life, at least in Jane's case.

That was when a weird thought crossed her mind. "You know, Rosalind cried over his dead body. She couldn't deny the evidence of him being a serial killer, and yet…"

He shrugged. "They say love is blind, and that's quite literal in her case."

"Jane!"

Her indignant tone seemed to amuse him somehow. "All right, I take that back."

"I have to go now," she told him softly. "I'll come and visit more often, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that."

She was already on the threshold when he called her back. "I can't wait to be back home, Teresa."

And, for some reason that she wasn't quite ready to admit even to herself, she blushed crimson and all but fled the room.


End file.
